John Wahl
Chair of the Alabama Republican Party
Assumed office
February 27, 2021
Preceded byTerry Lathan
Personal details
Born1986 (age 37–38)
Athens, Alabama, U.S.
Political partyRepublican

John Wahl (born 1986)[1][2] is an American political strategist and butterfly breeder who is the incumbent chair of the Alabama Republican Party, serving since 2021. He is also a vice chair of the Republican National Committee, representing its southern division since 2023. Wahl is the youngest chair of a state Republican party in the United States.[2]

Early life and career

Wahl was born in Athens, Alabama.[3] He is the brother of Noah Wahl, a fellow political strategist and the former chair of the Limestone County Republican Party. As a teenager, Wahl was a door-to-door campaigner for the Republican Party. Wahl later ran WT&S Consulting, a political consulting and polling firm associated with the Alabama Republican Party.[4] He was also the chair of Stop the Small Business Tax PAC, a political action committee in Athens,[5] as well as a founding member of the Freedom Alliance PAC.[6]

By trade, Wahl is a butterfly breeder and operates a farm in western Limestone County, a business he started when he was 16. Butterflies bred on Wahl's farm have supplied various exhibits nationally, including the Huntsville Botanical Garden and the Bronx Zoo, with over 40,000 butterflies annually.[7] Wahl has also served on the board of the International Butterfly Breeders Association.[1] Wahl's farm has been featured by various media outlets seeking to cover the niche industry of butterfly farming, including Mental Floss[8] and the Answers in Genesis foundation.[9] Wahl describes the industry as one of the "most beautiful" job opportunities, which he contrasts with his work in politics.[1]

Politics and Alabama Republican Party

In 2010, Wahl served as director of communications for Roy Moore's gubernatioral campaign.[4] When Moore sought to regain his seat as Chief Justice of Alabama in 2012, Wahl worked as the grassroots coordinator for that campaign.[6] In the 2012 election cycle, Wahl was selected to serve as field director for the Alabama Republican Party. Two years later, he was elected to the party's state executive committee. Following the 2016 election cycle, Wahl was chosen as the vice chairman for the Alabama Republican Party's division for the 5th congressional district. In 2019, Wahl was elected as senior vice chairman of the party at the executive committee's winter meeting.[3] He defeated Bill Harris from Autauga County for the seat.[10]

During the 2020 United States presidential election, Wahl was one of Alabama's nine Electoral College representatives. He was also a member of Tommy Tuberville's transition team, as Tuberville was elected to the U.S. Senate, representing Alabama, that year.[11] When Terry Lathan announced that she would not seek another term as chair of the Alabama Republican Party, Wahl ran to replace her in 2021, and was unopposed in seeking the seat.[3] Wahl said that, as party chair, he would focus on low taxes, secure borders and elections, as well as a strong military for his main agenda points.[1] He was elected by acclamation at the party's winter meeting on February 27, 2021.[12][13]

During his first term as party chair, Wahl oversaw the Alabama Republican Party's launching of a new minority outreach team,[14] as well as the "Operation Restore America" campaign, a group of volunteers assembled to assist with national and other out-of-state elections in 2021 and 2022, including the 2021 Virginia gubernatorial election, which was won by Republican Glenn Youngkin.[15][16] Wahl also managed the Republican Party's involvement in the 2022 Alabama elections, including a debate over congressional redistricting for the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Alabama. The conflict eventually led to a Supreme Court case, Allen v. Milligan, in which Republicans were initially granted a stay for 2022, but the district map was overturned in 2023.[17][18][19][20] Wahl has also been an advocate for closed primaries[21] (which the party approved in August 2022),[22] school choice, and adoption reform in Alabama.[23] By 2023, Wahl had helped raise over $2.8 million for the Alabama Republican Party.[24]

In fall 2022, the opinion column of journalist Kyle Whitmire published a series of stories reporting on Wahl's Anabaptist extended family members, who objected to voter ID on religious grounds, including calling facial recognition programs "the mark of the beast". Wahl has supported voter ID laws in his position as chair of the Alabama Republican Party.[25] On October 3, Whitmire reported in his opinion column that, while voting in the 2022 elections, Wahl had used a press secretary card as photo ID; Whitmire charged that Wahl had created the ID himself under the direction of Jim Zeigler and the office of the State Auditor of Alabama.[26] A Limestone County poll worker who inspected Wahl's ID was later fired after raising concerns about its validity, though the ID had been approved by the county probate judge.[27] The controversy attracted national attention, including reporting by Newsweek, after John Merrill, the Secretary of State of Alabama, said that Wahl's card from the State Auditor office was not a valid photo ID.[28] In an interview with Phil Williams, Wahl reiterated that the ID had been approved by Limestone County's probate judge and accused Whitmire of dragging his family members into the controversy solely for their Anabaptist beliefs, saying Whitmire was "just being cruel".[29]

In January 2023, Wahl was selected as a vice chair for the Republican National Committee, leading its southern division.[30] Wahl said that he was looking forward to working on a "fresh vision" for the Republican Party in the 2024 election cycle.[31] At the Alabama Republican Party's 2023 winter meeting, he was re-elected as chair for another two-year term. Wahl faced no opposition and was again elected by acclamation.[32][24] In September 2023, Wahl was profiled in a series of NPR articles highlighting the youngest Republican (Wahl himself) and Democratic (Anderson Clayton of North Carolina) state party chairs in the United States. Wahl said that his goals for the future of the Alabama Republican Party would include attracting Black voters from Alabama's Black Belt region, as well as younger voters.[2]

Personal life

Wahl resides in Limestone County, Alabama, where his butterfly farm is located.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Cason, Mike (January 26, 2021). "Butterfly farmer John Wahl running for chairman of Alabama Republican Party". AL.com. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Bustillo, Ximena; Moore, Elena (September 7, 2023). "This butterfly farmer wants to strengthen the Republican Party's hold on Alabama". NPR. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Moseley, Brandon (March 1, 2021). "John Wahl elected as chairman of the Alabama Republican Party". Alabama Political Reporter. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Bunch, Riley; Henderson, Amy (February 25, 2021). "Pivotal role: Wahl seeking helm of state GOP post-Trump". The Cullman Times. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  5. ^ Moseley, Brandon (August 17, 2015). "Athens is Next Battleground over Taxes". Alabama Political Reporter. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Republican State Party Chairs 2022". Democracy In Action. July 30, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  7. ^ Belanger, Evan (May 22, 2016). "The business of butterflies: Limestone County home to rare branch of farming". Decatur Daily. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  8. ^ Higgins, Chris (July 3, 2013). "Inside a Butterfly Farm". Mental Floss. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  9. ^ Wahl, John (April 1, 2015). "Giant Silk Moths—Butterflies' Unsung Rivals". Answers Magazine. Answers in Genesis. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  10. ^ Ross, Sean (February 23, 2019). "Alabama Republican Party elects officers". Yellowhammer News. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  11. ^ Riales, Bill (March 1, 2021). "John Wahl elected to replace Terry Lathan as chairman of Alabama Republican Party". WKRG-TV. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  12. ^ Cason, Mike (February 27, 2021). "Alabama Republican Party elects butterfly farmer state chairman". AL.com. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  13. ^ "Wahl elected chairman of Alabama Republican Party". Associated Press. March 1, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  14. ^ Moseley, Brandon (October 21, 2021). "Alabama Republican Party will launch new minority outreach team". 1819 News. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  15. ^ Moseley, Brandon (November 3, 2021). "Virginia's gubernatorial race was first victory for Alabama GOP's Restore America plan". 1819 News. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  16. ^ Moseley, Brandon (November 6, 2021). "ALGOP Chairman says Republican wins in Virginia are wins for all Republicans". 1819 News. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  17. ^ Taylor, Caleb (June 8, 2023). "ALGOP 'disappointed' in SCOTUS redistricting ruling; Wahl vows to 'work hard to win all seven congressional seats'". 1819 News. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  18. ^ Moseley, Brandon (February 1, 2022). "Alabama Republican Party files motion in support of state's position in redistricting case". 1819 News. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  19. ^ Cason, Mike (February 7, 2022). "U.S. Supreme Court grants Alabama's request to block order for new congressional districts". The Anniston Star. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  20. ^ Sherman, Mark; Gresko, Jessica (February 7, 2022). "Supreme Court sides with GOP in Alabama election map case". Associated Press. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  21. ^ Poor, Jeff (July 7, 2022). "ALGOP chair Wahl calls for closed primaries, county voter mapping software requirements in wake of controversial primary season". 1819 News. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  22. ^ Holmes, Jacob (August 15, 2022). "ALGOP votes to close primaries starting in 2024". Alabama Political Reporter. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  23. ^ Yaffee (August 12, 2022). "ALGOP chair John Wahl: School choice, closed primaries and adoption reform among next session's priorities". Yellowhammer News. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  24. ^ a b Shipley, Austin (February 27, 2023). "Wahl re-elected to state GOP chair". Yellowhammer News. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  25. ^ Whitmire, Kyle (September 27, 2022). "Alabama GOP chair's family believed voter ID was mark of the beast, brother said in deposition". AL.com. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  26. ^ Whitmire, Kyle (October 3, 2022). "Alabama GOP chairman made the photo ID he used to vote". AL.com. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  27. ^ Harry, Brittany (October 6, 2022). "Limestone County poll worker fired after concerns about ID belonging to ALGOP Chairman John Wahl". WAAY-TV. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  28. ^ Li Bartov, Shira (October 4, 2022). "Republican Chairman Under Fire for Using Fake Homemade ID to Vote". Newsweek. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  29. ^ Taylor, Daniel (October 3, 2022). "'Just being cruel': ALGOP chairman John Wahl responds to hit piece against his family". 1819 News. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  30. ^ "ALGOP chairman elected as RNC vice chairman". Alabama Political Reporter. January 30, 2023. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  31. ^ Cason, Mike (January 28, 2023). "Alabama Republican Party leader John Wahl named vice chair for national GOP". Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  32. ^ Griesbach, Rebecca (February 25, 2023). "John Wahl reelected as Alabama GOP chairman". AL.com. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
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